An independent investigation has found no evidence of institutional corruption in professional tennis or any cover-up by its international governing bodies.
The Independent Review of Integrity in Tennis was set up in February 2016 following allegations of match-fixing and betting-related corruption particularly in some lower levels of the sport.
An interim report in April by the panel of three lawyers recommended among other things that tennis should stop selling live scoring data at the lowest levels, and eliminate betting sponsorships in the sport.
The panel’s final report “maps out a comprehensive route for the sport to follow in combating betting-related corruption, particularly the vulnerabilities highlighted at the lower levels of the game,” the joint statement by the tennis bodies said.
“It also confirms that the Panel has seen no evidence of any institutional corruption or cover-up by the international governing bodies or the (anti-corruption) Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU).”
The key tennis bodies – the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the men’s and women’s federations WTA and ATP and the four Grand Slam tournaments said they had already agreed in principle to the draft recommendations.
Progress had been made in a number of areas including increasing the number of prosecutions and raising staffing levels.
Be the first to comment